A site devoted to a mixed bag of topics, with an emphasis on professional and amateur sports in Regina, Saskatchewan. We also preview the weekly lineup of guests for the Locker Talk on Access 7 tv sports talk show.

Monday, June 29, 2015

A little late this getting this posted - sorry! Here's the lineup for last week's show. On the bright side, I suspect it will air again this week; Tuesday at 9 p.m. and Saturday at noon. Plus it'll be available via Access' On Demand menu for a long, long time!

Locker Talk Guests for June23/15Co-Host: Mitchell Blair

1. The Regina Water Polo Armada is celebrating a very successful 2014/15 water polo season, and looking ahead to next year. Guests: Jacob Brentnell, Stephen Gloade & Katie Campbell (Regina water polo athletes).

3. The Film Room. Locker Talk sports movie reviewer Carlo Palazzo offers his thoughts on a sports cinema classic. This time: The Color of Money.

4. A look back at some of the highlights of the 2014/15 Regina high school athletic season. Guest: Angela Tillier (RHSAA Commissioner).

5. Panel discussion. A look back at some of the major local sports stories over the past season, and a look ahead to what’s in store for the rest of 2015. Panelists: Carlo Palazzo (Locker Talk correspondent) & Drew Dalby (104.9 The Wolf announcer).

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

It's the second last show of the broadcast season! You can literally feel the excitement coursing through your television screen. Here's the lineup for the show, airing tonight at 9:00 on Access channel 7 in Regina. Also available On Demand afterwards.

2. An update on the 2015 Western Major Baseball League season for the Regina Red Sox. Guest: Scott Douglas (Head Coach).

3. The Saskatchewan African Canadian Heritage Museum will host a special event in September, featuring former Roughrider players who chose to stay in Canada after their CFL careers ended. Guest: Carol Lafayette-Boyd (Event Organizer).

5. A preview of Merciless, the June event put on in Regina by High Impact Wrestling, and a look ahead to the popular Pile ‘O Bones Rumble in August. Guests: Alexander Prime & Bucky McGraw (HIW wrestlers).

Thursday, June 11, 2015

We're into the final countdown now, with only three shows left in the broadcast season. Here's the lineup for this week's instant classic. If you missed it Tuesday night, it'll air again Saturday at noon on Access channel 7 in Regina.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

We're heading into the home stretch of the 2014/15 season, with only four shows to go after this week. So, expect each one to be a classic! Here's the lineup for this week's classic, airing tonight at 9:00 and Saturday at noon on Access channel 7.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

One of Regina's most iconic high school football programs is on life support. Members of the Thom Trojans football team recently learned their annual spring football camp has been cancelled, following the resignation of the team's head coach. In addition, a couple of veteran assistant coaches are poised to transfer to other schools in the fall. Administrators are looking for options, including exploring the possibility of merging the football programs at Thom and Johnson Collegiate.

It's another stomach punch for the kids and teachers at Thom, who have had a nightmarish 2015 so far - including the murder of a female classmate and subsequent charges being laid against two male Thom students, as well as a fatal traffic accident on the Ring Road that led to charges against another Thom student.

Here's hoping the Trojans football program can be brought back from the brink, and start to restore some of the school spirit for which Thom was so well known in past years.

I made my return to the Access 7 studio last night, after several weeks away due to RMF spring league coaching duties. Here's the lineup for the show, which aired last night and will hit the airwaves again Saturday at noon.

2. The Regina Thunder is loading up for a run at a second Canadian junior football championship. Guests: Stefan Endsin (Offensive Coordinator) & Jaeden Marwick (Thunder QB).

3. The Regina Heat senior men’s lacrosse team takes it show on the road and then some – competing in an international tournament in the Czech Republic. Guests: Jody Schmeltzer & Dallan Larson (Heat Players).

Before I forget, thanks to Drew Dalby from 104.9 the Wolf and Carlo Palazzo for filling in as hosts the past three weeks. Here's the lineup for the previous shows in May, which Access customers can check out via the On Demand menu:

Locker Talk Guests for May 12/15 Hosts: Mitchell Blair & Drew Dalby

1. The registration deadline for Regina Minor Football’s 2015 fall season is in only three days. Get those registrations in! Guest: Kelly Hamilton (RMF President).

2. A look back at last week’s WHL bantam draft, and what has already been an eventful offseason for the Regina Pats. Guest: Todd Lumbard (Team President) & Lukas Sillinger (Pats prospect).

Well, I certainly haven't been keeping on top of this, have I? Here's the lineup for the April 7th edition of Locker Talk on Access 7, which aired for two weeks in the Tuesday (9 p.m.) and Saturday (noon) time slot.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Okay, I'm really late in getting this posted this week - sorry! Anyway, here's the lineup for this week's show. It aired Tuesday night and repeats Saturday at noon. As always, it will be available via On Demand for Access customers as well.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Another dandy collection of guests on this week's show! Here's the lineup. As per usual, the show airs tonight at 9 pm and Saturday at noon. This week's show will also be aired next week at the same times. Only on Access 7 in Regina!

Locker Talk Guests for March 10/15 Co-Host: Mitchell Blair

1. A post mortem on the 2014-15 season for the University of Regina women’s basketball team. Guest: Dave Taylor (Head Coach).

With Mitch/Scruffy away for a couple of weeks, I got to dust off my commentary/editorial skills. Here's the text of the one that aired on the 17th.

You may not have
heard, but the past and the future have been butting heads – not unlike what
Rams do in the animal kingdom – over the current state of the University of
Regina Rams. Many alumni members of
that fine organization – dating back to when the Rams ran roughshod over other
junior football teams before graduating to university action in 1999 – are up
in arms these days.They’re angry at the
slights – real and perceived – they’re suffering from the current board and the
people that run the athletics department at the University of Regina.

It all came to a head
recently when long-time head coach Frank McCrystal and his top assistant Bernie
Schmidt left – or were shown the door, depending on who you ask. As always, the
truth likely lies somewhere in between. Well, that didn’t sit well with the old
boys club. Frankly, if you’ll pardon
the unintentional pun, they liked things the way they were…the Ram way.

Which, I’ll grant you,
worked just fine when the team was the cream of the crop in junior football.
But, answer me this – and be honest – how’s that been working out for the Rams
lately? Aside from that one run to the Vanier Cup in 2000 – with a roster full
of 25-something men – have the Rams been a legitimate championship contender
since moving to university football? Really? Seriously?

No, they haven’t. It
was time for a change. It was time for a new way of thinking, with a new way of
doing things. I don’t know if new head coach Mike Gibson is the man to lead the
Rams to the CIS Promised Land, but why not give the man a chance?

Could the transfer of
power from McCrystal and Schmidt have been handled better by the University?
Absolutely. Was it necessary? I think so.Remember: What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over
and over again and expecting different results. The Ram way was great, IN ITS
DAY.But make no mistake, this is not
your daddy’s junior football team anymore.

So, I’m sorry to those
members of the alumni – many of whom I respect a great deal as football men,
and as human beings – that are feeling slighted these days. I hope that
the relationship can be repaired – and I acknowledge it’s going to take some time –
for the benefit of both sides, and for the benefit of the rest of us who would
love to have a top CIS football program to cheer for every fall. Maybe the new
way is in fact the right way to update the Ram way. Whattya say we give it a
chance?